Just another Apollo? Part two
In mid-1969, as the Apollo missions were reaching their climax, NASA managers began to plan for the next phase of lunar exploration. This optimistic plan, issued by the Space Task Group, would have had NASA’s funding stay at Apollo levels, and, in a series of steps that followed Apollo, would have seen NASA develop such elements as a lunar orbit station in 1978, a lunar surface base in 1980, and a manned mission to Mars in 1981 or 1983. President Nixon rejected the ambitious Space Task Group plan, choosing instead to develop the infamous, loved and hated space shuttle.
Since the ultimate goal of the new ESAS program as far as the Moon is concerned is to develop a lunar outpost, and since this article is comparing the ESAS to Apollo, it … Continue Reading (6 minute read)